Connecting with SASL

SASL is a method that allows identification to services (NickServ) as the first step in connecting to the network, before anything else happens. To use SASL, one must register with services. To connect to freenode using Tor, SASL is required.

Some users may see this message when trying to connect:
*** Notice -- You need to identify via SASL to use this server
When there are repeated problems with abuse or anti-social behavior from an IP range, and the users on that IP range seem to have the ability to rapidly change between many different IPs, freenode is left with the uncomfortable choices of completely blocking access to the entire range, doing nothing, or turning to SASL. If nothing is done, many large channels may end up blocking entire ISPs and countries, perhaps for an extended time. SASL allows freenode to avoid a complete block while still mitigating potential abuse.